a voice for the natural landscaping movement

N ATIVE P LANTS, NATURAL L ANDSCAPES JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 VOL. 19, NO. 1

inside

Notes from the President: Chapters Working Hard to Bring in New Members. 2 The Alien at My Doorstep. 3 Is Wild Ones Conference and Annual Meeting. 3 going Hollywood? No, but you Business Member might say a famous Hollywood star is going native. American Family Story by Susan J. Tweit. A longer version of this story appeared in Audubon Magazine, July 2005. Insurance Wins Award. 5 At the end of a lane in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Los Angeles, an ocher retaining wall Book Review: Last Child topped with native sandstone rises above the road but doesn’t quite conceal the quiet revolution in the Woods. 6 in landscaping taking place behind it. The plants that spill over the wall in colorful profusion Wild Ones Chapter Notes. 7 are native to these steep canyons: Cedros Island snapdragon with vivid scarlet flowers; silver-gray The Next Generation: American Painted mats of hummingbird sage; rosettes of spiky foothill yucca, and succulent dudleya; California Ladies. 8 wild grape; ceanothus with wrinkled green foliage and snow-white blossoms; coast tassel bush; and a California sycamore with patchwork bark. Registry of Michigan For the past century southern Californians have been replacing these “weeds” with every Outdoor Educational Areas with Native exotic imaginable, from Cuban palms to South African calla lilies, transforming the region and Plantings. 9 inadvertently eliminating habitat for many wildlife species. Now the natives have a champion in actress Rene Russo, the star of such box office hits as “Lethal Weapon 3,” “Tin Cup,” “The Environmental Impacts of Deicing. 10 Thomas Crown Affair,” and her latest, “Yours, Mine, and Ours.” A Sense of Place. 11 Russo is so passionate about southern California’s natural heritage that she is rooting out the America’s Lost Landscape: exotic plants and restoring the natives on the 2-1/2 acres she owns with her husband, screen- The Tallgrass Prairie DVD writer Dan Gilroy. This landscaping ethic, often called wildscaping, aims to restore habitat and 11. honor the character of the site by relying on indigenous plants and those non-natives adapted to The Grapevine. 12 the local conditions and friendly to wildlife. It also avoids the use of pesticides, fertilizer, and supplemental water. Russo is an advocate New and Renewing for a campaign to convince gardeners to Business Members. 13 embrace native plants in a region better The Meeting Place. 16 known as the home of Hollywood than as Wild Ones Library. 17 the home of California holly, the indige- Get Great Stuff Online at nous shrub that is the town’s namesake. the Wild Ones Store. 18 Russo had no idea of the scale of the project she would be getting into when she Thank You! Back Cover. toured a ridgetop house with a mountain view six years ago. An expanse of water- hungry green lawn and weeping willows Working toward our next made the place look, as Russo puts it, “like Connecticut.” But something about 25 years restoring native plants Manzanita (Archtostaphylos sp), a California native plant, the site with the steep slope dropping to a with upright leaves and mahogany red bark, does well on and natural landscapes. canyon felt right. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 infertile, rocky hillsides. NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT Native Landscaping Is the Mission of Wild Ones, the Most Important Thing We Do. And It’s Something We Can’t Do Without New Members. Our Chapters Work Hard to Keep Those New Members Coming.

Last year’s challenge pitted chapter against Membership is the bedrock of what Wild Ones is. While native chapter in the race to add the most new landscaping is the mission of the organization, our membership is household and business members. The the lifeblood of our existence. Without both new and sustaining results are in and the determination of the members, we would cease to exist. winner is not easy. Over the last 4-1/2 years as president I have met a variety of Based on the rules published with the dedicated and interesting people. I have talked with several of the challenge, the winner of $200 for introduc- original nine members and with Lorrie Otto about the early days ing the most new households is the Habitat of the organization and why it is so vitally important to continue Gardening Club of Central New York (NY) to spread the word. I have met with local members at the quarterly Chapter (highest percentage of gain). There is a tie between the board meetings as we have moved among chapters, discussing the Twin Cities (MN) and the Rock River Valley (IL) chapters for new problems typical to all chapters and sharing visions of what native business members. A check for $150 will be sent to each of these landscaping is all about. I have shared stories with long-time two chapters. I want to thank all the chapters who took the chal- members and encouraged new members with their efforts. While lenge seriously and added so many new members to Wild Ones! our mission is vitally important to our future, it is the people with whom we share the vision that make each trip so worthwhile. Best wishes to all of you in this new year and may your Wild New New Chapter Household Percentage Business Ones activities bear long-term results, both in the landscape Fox Valley Area 35 14% around you and in the people that surround you. ■ Twin Cities 34 47% 2 Rock River Valley 31 20% 2 Greater Cincinnati 21 40% Joe Powelka, Wild Ones National President Habitat Gardening Club 16 89% [email protected] Western Reserve 11 52% Editor’s Note: Thanks to Joe for his generosity in donating the Partners-at-large 3 money for the prizes.

Wild Ones Journal (ISSN 1551-9155) is published Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound bimonthly by Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural landscaping practices to encourage biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, Landscapes. Views expressed are the opinions of and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit, the authors. Journal content may be reproduced for environmental, educational, and advocacy organization. non-profit educational purposes as long as the Journal is credited as the source. Individual articles that carry a copyright are the property of the NATIONAL OFFICE LIBRARIAN author and cannot be reproduced without the Robert Ryf • 920-361-0792 Executive Director author’s written permission. No artwork may be E-mail: [email protected] Donna VanBuecken reproduced, except to accompany its original com- P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, WI 54912-1274 CALENDAR COORDINATOR panion text, without written permission of the illus- 877-FYI-WILD (394-9453) Mary Paquette • 920-994-2505 trator or photographer. Contact editor if in doubt 920-730-3986 E-mail: [email protected] about use rights. Manuscripts and illustrations are Fax: 920-730-3986 welcome; Wild Ones does not pay for articles, E-mail: [email protected] BOARD MEMBERS photos or illustrations. For guidelines for submitting President Carol Andrews, Minnesota, 06 material, contact editor or see Wild Ones web site. Joe Powelka • 608-837-6308 Patricia Armstrong, Illinois, 08 Advertisers: Contact National Office for rates and E-mail: [email protected] Nancy Aten, Wisconsin, 08 schedule. Vice-President & Editor-In-Chief Portia Brown, Kentucky, 08 WILD ONES JOURNAL EDITOR Carol Andrews • 218-730-9954 Jerry Brown, Kentucky, 06 Maryann Whitman • 248-652-4004 E-mail: [email protected] Mark Charles, Michigan, 08 Tim Lewis, Illinois, 08 E-mail: [email protected] Secretary Steve Maassen, Wisconsin, 08 (Please indicate topic in subject line.) Position open. Kathy McDonald, Ohio, 08 WILD ONES JOURNAL STAFF Treasurer Diane Powelka, Wisconsin, 06 Barbara Bray, Contributing Editor Kathy McDonald • 513-941-6497 Joe Powelka, Wisconsin, 06 Mandy Ploch, Contributing Editor E-mail: [email protected] Bret Rappaport, Illinois, 08 Christian Nelson, Creative Director Communications Committee Chair Maryann Whitman, Michigan, 06 & Associate Editor Bret Rappaport Klaus Wisiol, Illinois, 06 E-mail: [email protected] Marilyn Wyzga, New Hampshire, 06 Wild Ones recommends that you patronize Seeds for Education Director HONORARY DIRECTORS businesses that support our policies regarding Steve Maassen • 920-233-5914 Darrel Morrison, FASLA, Georgia species provenance and habitat preservation. E-mail: [email protected] Lorrie Otto, Wisconsin The appearance of advertising in the Journal Web Site Coordinator Craig Tufts, Virginia does not constitute an endorsement by Wild Ones Peter Chen • [email protected] Andy & Sally Wasowski, New Mexico of any organization or product.

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2 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 Writers The at My Doorstep By Pam Westfall &Artists While they may be beautiful to look at, some non-native plants don’t play nice when A former plant ecologist, Susan J. they move into the neighborhood. With such tricks as over-active seeding, shading Tweit has authored nine books, in- out the competition, and poisoning the neighbors, these aliens soon take over the cluding The Rocky Mountain Garden landscape – much to our dismay. Survival Guide. She writes, gardens, We’ve all had the impulse at some point in time. We’re at the garden center, behaving and restores pockets of urban wildness splendidly until that amazing plant grabs our attention. We simply must have it. And why in Salida, Colorado. For more infor- not? It looks pretty enough, and seems innocent. Country of origin is the last thing on our mation see www.susanjtweit.com. minds. So we buy it and plant it. Next thing we know, it has taken over the yard, the house, and is considering an all-out assault on the neighbor’s property as well. During the next Tonie Fitzgerald is a Washington walk at the local nature preserve, we see even greater extent of the damage inflicted. Most State University/Spokane County ex- non-native plants are polite guests, and pose little threat to natural areas. But some aren’t tension agent in horticulture, and the so nice, and end up creating ecological disasters. author of Gardening in the Inland Two factors seem to be at play: the increased sprawl of suburban populations and, Northwest (Washington State Univer- ironically, an increased interest in gardening. The first factor contributes in obvious ways. sity 2001). Many natural areas that were once vast and continuous tracts are now disconnected islands, surrounded by suburbia. As the homeowners get bitten by the garden bug, they rush off to Pam Westfall, Greater DuPage (IL) the local garden center and buy what is available. No warning is ever issued about the Chapter. A former molecular biologist, potential for a plant to cause havoc in natural areas. Most non-native plants, according to Pam is a frequent contributor to the Kayri Havens, conservation science director of the Chicago Botanical Gardens in Glencoe, Journal. Illinois, do not become pests. But when the alien gets aggressively ugly, the effects are Janice Stiefel, Door County (WI) hardly unnoticeable. The damage can be costly, both in terms of loss of biodiversity and Chapter. Janice is an avid entomolo- also in efforts spent to eliminate the invader. gist and writes and lectures on a So how do the aliens manage to do it? They act like out-of-towners on Bourbon Street, variety of subjects related to native exhibiting behavior they would never do at home. Their mechanisms are varied, from plants and insects. copious seed set, to shading out the competition, poisoning the neighbors, and even genetically mixing in with the locals. Celia Larsen, who has been a mem- In California, South American Shrub, (Sesbanis punicea), has plagued the Sacramento ber of the Ann Arbor (MI) Chapter for River delta by creating dense stands of thickets. Barry Rice, from the Nature Conservancy in many years, is a naturalist working to Davis, California, says that in a drier situation, it is well behaved. Yet by air or water the establish school habitats in her local seeds find their way to the area and create havoc. Another garden thug unleashed unknow- area, where she focuses on developing ingly is the Midwestern favorite European buckthorn (Rhamnus sp.). CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 curricular tie-ins with elementary age children.

Sally Hiott, has been a member of the Detroit Metro (MI) Chapter for many Naperville Illinois (just outside Chicago) years and often donates the use of her Sponsored by Greater Dupage Chapter drawings to Wild Ones. See her draw- Friday July 14 to Sunday July 16 2005 ings on page 20. Keynote Speakers: Photos on pages 1 and 14 used with Dr. Gerould Wilhelm, author of Plants of the Chicago Region and inspirational permission of Mike Charters, speaker, speaking on the state of native plants and their communities in the www.calflora.net. greater Chicago Region (which includes counties in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan; Michael R. Jeffords, photographer with the Illinois Natural History Survey speaking on the native plant communities of the state of Illinois. On Saturday there will be 28 concurrent sessions dealing with design, habitats, animals, education, plants, and life style to mention a few. The dinner keynote will be Darrel Morrison, Landscape Architect (FASLA) and honorary director of Wild Ones. On Sunday, five half-day and five all-day field trips are being planned. Field trips will consist of visits to local yards, forest preserves/prairies, organic seed farms, and nurseries, etc. Leadership workshop and photo contest will be held in conjunction with the conference.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 3 THE ALIEN AT MY DOORSTEP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 It has found its way from suburban backyards and into forest pre- serves. The canopy of buckthorn creates dense shade, which allows for very few native under-story plants to grow. According to Patti Vitt of Chicago Botanical Gardens, only “poison ivy, a few woodland sedges, and the occasional viola” can withstand such conditions. The Chinese tree of heaven, Alianthus altissima, does not make polite company at a cocktail party. Its antisocial behavior comes from a toxic chemical secreted by its roots, which prevents other plants from germinating. The chemical is known as ailanthone. In addition to ailanthone, four other poisons, also secreted by the roots, have been identified. And Chinese tree of heaven doesn’t stop there. If it can’t poison the competition, it then sets copious amounts of seed, which in turn germinate readily and grow a tap root within a few months. In a novel move, desert salt cedars (Tamarix sp.) showed a more promiscuous side which no one could have predicted. The natives The National Board is pleased to announce that we are proved to be too beguiling, and they actually produced a successful now able to offer lifetime memberships in Wild Ones. hybrid. So successful, in fact, that currently hybrids of the pair dot the arid landscape. Foresight of this was not plausible, since they do not $1,200 per household, payable over three years. even share the same plant range. Yet they hybridized nonetheless. Not inheritable. Desert salt cedar trees have become one of the most invasive plants Applies to household, which includes children in this country. under 18 years of age. Fire cycles that were once typical in the Midwestern prairie, were also once a rarity in the desert Southwest. With the introduction of Local chapters will still receive their annual dues Eurasian grasses in the backyards of Arizona, these non-native reimbursement for lifetime members. marauders have now set up shop in the desert. Fire has become more One address per membership. frequent, using the dry grasses for fuel. Unfortunately, drought- tolerant cacti are not also fireproof, and the effect has been devastating Contact National Office for details. to the native ecosystem of the Sonoran Desert. Not plagued by fire, but stimulated by the importation of its native pollinator, ornamental figs, Ficus microcarpa, in Florida are now taking over natural areas. The pol- linator was not present in the United States when the fig arrived initially, and the plant actually had to be hand pollinated in order to propagate. Twenty years ago, that changed when the first fig wasp landed on American soil, fresh off the boat from Eurasia. Human pollination services are no longer needed. Birds have also assisted many a foreigner with seed dispersal. Often, gardeners who like to watch birds also like to plant plants that attract them. However, some of the plants recommended for their berries are non-natives with a penchant for growing over the natives. Oriental bittersweet vine (Celastrus orbiculatus) and porcelain berry vine (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) are two of the worst offenders. They can cover the tallest trees, and within a couple of decades can even uproot trees with their weight. All this invading by foreigners has roused the natives. In 2001 a group of invasive-plant experts converged at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis to create a voluntary agreement to prevent such ecological disasters. The agreement includes provisions for the preven- tion and management of invasive plant outbreaks, encouragement of research, controlled introduction of new cultivars, as well as informing the public about plant aggressiveness. In Massachusetts, testing of plants for aggressiveness is now being done, along with developing standards to assess for such behavior. This has helped develop a data- base to determine a plant’s wayward tendencies, and has led some nurseries to stop selling those that make the bad plant list. It also has provided customers with some guidance in making sensible choices. Despite their beauty, aliens may not be the best selection to make. We need to examine a picture larger than our own backyard. Sensible choices are ones we should all make next time at the garden center. ■

4 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 Wild Ones Business Member Wins Award for Exceptional Efforts Toward Good Environmental Stewardship American Family Corporate Headquarters wins the John Nolen Award Wild Ones Business Member, American Garczynski, whose background in horti- rid of invasive honeysuckle shrubs and Family Corporate Headquarters recently culture includes a distinct predilection for buckthorn, and monitoring bluebird nest- received the John Nolen award from the native plant species, explained that Ameri- ing. Such firsthand involvement with University of Wisconsin Madison- can Family’s Habitat Enhancement Pro- the project, Garczynski said, has given Arboretum for their support of native gram grew from the discovery of a dick- them a lasting appreciation of habitat ecosystems. cissel, a grassland bird, on the property. needs and has helped spread the word This small, migratory bird breeds in the to their families. A corporate headquarters becomes a grasslands of North America. Dickcissel showplace for natural landscaping populations are dwindling because grass- The good work will continue Pat Brown of the Arboretum’s Publications lands are declining. From such humble Ongoing development will include re- and Public Relations Department told us beginnings evolved a landscape that invites storing two wood lots to oak savannas by that the Arboretum commissioned this a diversity of plants and animals to make removing invasive species, seeding native award for organizations (or individuals) in themselves at home, and the public to species, using herbicides judiciously, and order to create an opportunity to recognize enjoy its nearly 5 miles of paths. regular prescribed burning. Grassland exceptional efforts toward good environ- mowing schedules are being timed so nests mental stewardship. Located in the north- The American Family WIND Club are not destroyed. The property’s two pond east corner of Madison, the American Besides the valuable advice of experts in- systems are maintained for habitat diver- Family Corporation has transformed 85 cluding biologists from the DNR, the UW- sity. Thirty-four bluebird houses are cared acres of ordinary farm and countryside Madison, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- for and monitored. And a butterfly garden into grasslands, prairie, woods, savannas, vice, Dane Country Parks, and other thrives in the prairie area. ■ and a pond. sectors, American Family employees have For more information about the John Nolen played an important role. Called WIND award, go to http://uwarboretum.org/foa/ It started with a dickcissel (Working Within Nature and Develop- Leopold_Restoration_Award_Program.htm Facility site maintenance manager Rita ment) Club, employees have been getting Conway School of Landscape Design Graduate Program in Landscape Planning, Design, and Management Master of Arts in Landscape Design The Conway School of Landscape Design teaches the application of ecological principles to the design and management of land and resources. By planning and designing projects for residential, muni- cipal, and non-profit clients, students learn a constellation of skills including Roots Sweatshirt design graphics, practical problem- The roots of native plants grow solving, ability to communicate design solutions, and ecological advocacy. deep. Deeper than the plants grow- ing in most people’s yard. This shirt CSLD’s 10-month program emphasizes self direction and collaborative learning, not only demonstrates that im- and prepares graduates for jobs in such portant fact, but also keeps you nice diverse fields as community planning, and warm while you’re spreading conservation, site design, land steward- the Wild Ones message. Wild Ones ship, and site management. logo on back. Shirt is Hunter Green INFORMATION SESSION: with Beige graphic. Sizes S, M, L, & Saturday, February 11, 2006 XL. Just $35 (includes shipping and 332 S. Deerfield Rd., PO Box 179 handling). Order on our web site at Conway, MA 01341-0179 413-369-4044 [email protected] www.csld.edu www.for-wild.org/store/

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 5 BOOK REVIEW Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv Publisher: Algonquin Books. ISBN: 1565123913. Publication Date: April 2005. Review by Celia Larsen an you imagine: the “average” teach our children to respect nature, but older children with a cell phone and American watches more than three we must also give them opportunities to traveling with buddies to help ease C hours of TV each day. By the time really get to know it – to learn, for parental anxiety about abductions. He this “average” person is 70, he/she will example, why bloodroot and skunk clearly explains the statistics that show just have spent almost 10 years watching the cabbage are so named. how unlikely kidnappings or other violent screen. Ten years! And this doesn’t even In Louv’s chapter titled “Scared Smart: acts against children are, and how the fear include time surfing the internet or playing Facing the Bogeyman,” he talks about that we may instill is more harmful for a video games. All this sedentary, passive “positive nature-risk.” In this chapter he child’s development than the rare incidents viewing has, not surprisingly, contributed discusses parental fears to obesity in our country. But of greater about letting children concern, in the opinion of many, is that it play on their own in often leads to depression and attention- nature. Yes, our kids deficit disorder in many children. It seems would be quite “safe” if we are a nation suffering a sort of spiritual they just sat inside all day malaise, and the cure, according to author and watched TV. But they Richard Louv, may be as simple as spend- really need unsupervised ing more time in beautiful natural areas. – yes, you can be there, In Last Child in the Woods, Louv summar- but you don’t have to be izes, in a very readable manner, all the right there – unstructured latest scientific research on the benefits of time outside. Louv be- contact with nature. The book is filled with lieves that children need entertaining interviews and anecdotes that to explore their surround- support the idea that our children are dis- ings. He suggests sending connected from nature. Louv describes the history of how we got to this point and he gives a blueprint for a new future, one where children could again enjoy their awesome, joyous place in this world. Through Louv’s stories we come to learn that not only do children need the natural world, but also the natural world needs children. Or else where will the next generation of environmental activists come from? He allows for the need of future en- Great selection, including vironmentalists to be a bit rough with Wood Lilies, Yellow Star Grass, nature. President Teddy Roosevelt, as a and Grass Pink Orchids. youngster, annoyed his washerwoman by having a snapping turtle tied to the leg of Local genotype. her sink. Apparently, the future president Competitive prices. had a virtual museum of natural history in his bedroom, and I doubt that “virtual” in Potted plants ready to go. the cyber-sense would have quite the same Come and see us at the impact. Our children need to have re- Dane County Farmers’ Market peated hands-on, direct experiences with in Madison. nature, or we may ultimately lose the No mail order sales! beautiful lands President Roosevelt fought so hard to protect. Even the beloved chil- Farm visits by appointment only, dren’s author, Beatrix Potter, tore things up please. a bit. She and her brother would boil down S5920 Lehman Road animal carcasses to study their bones. Later Baraboo, WI 53913 in her life, she became an avid proponent 608-356-0179 of land conservation in England. We must

6 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 I let my kids climb tall trees, walk on slippery rocks, and sit on the porch to watch thunderstorms. I encourage them to chop wood and build fires. WILD ONES Dangerous? To let them do these things – or to keep them from such things? that might occur outside. Most abductors water, and spirit – and restorative and Chapter Notes are not strangers, and most outdoor in- replenishing of the planet, rather than juries occur during organized sports. De- fundamentally extractive and damaging.” We have a new seedling chapter, spite the statistics, one can empathize with Louv envisions our schools using their sur- Habitat Resource Network, organiz- background anxiety of parents. I am always rounding natural environments as class- ing in the Chester and Delaware relieved when my son returns home from a rooms, focusing on their local, rich array of County areas of Pennsylvania, south- long bike ride – with his helmet buckled – indigenous species, before learning about west of Philadelphia. If you live near or my daughter walks home safely from remote, untouchable rain forests. Louv this area, don’t hesitate to become school – with her cell phone in her back- even has the courage to tackle the inter- part of this newest chapter. See page pack. I let my kids climb tall trees, walk on section of religion and environmentalism. 17 for contact information. slippery rocks, and sit on the porch to I like his telling of Mr. Rogers’ answer to watch thunderstorms. I encourage them to Louv’s 9-year-old son on whether or not chop wood and build fires. Dangerous? To God and Mother Nature are married. let them do these things – or to keep them I encourage you to read this book, but from such things? only if it will not take time away from your DRAGONFLY Last Child in the Woods supplies all the being outside with children, taking them “proof” anyone could need to encourage to a local community farm, turning the CALENDARS children (and adults) to watch less TV and compost, or reading out loud to them John Arthur’s (Twin Cities (MN) spend more time outside. Louv uses the while you swing in a hammock (sur- Chapter) 2006 Dragonfly calendars are last third of the book to give uplifting rounded by the blooms of trumpet vine, now available at the Wild Ones Store, examples and ideas of ways to reconnect being visited by hummingbirds, sipping or by writing to the National Office. our families with the natural world. His on nectar, locally brewed of course.) ■ Courtesy of John Arthur, $5 of the descriptions of “green urbanism” are You may also want to read: price comes back to Wild Ones, along especially hopeful. He quotes architect Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature with matching funds. Check the Wild William McDonough as saying that cities Education, by David Sobel (part of Orion’s Nature Ones Store at www.for-wild.org/store. should be “sheltering – cleansing of air, Literacy series; 1996) ISBN 0-913098-50-7.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 7 THE NEXT GENERATION found where they actually form their chrysalis. program, the women had been whispering In Door County, Wisconsin, the larvae among themselves about something I put up on American favor the perennial pearly everlasting the screen like, “Oh, we had those last year, (Anaphalis margaritacea). Some years there but I didn’t know what they were.” When I got Painted Ladies are large populations of American painted to the American painted lady, I mentioned its ladies. During those times, the plants are cov- love affair with the pearly everlasting plant… By Barbara Bray ered with hundreds of eggs. There would never how the larvae almost defoliate the plant, but be enough leaves for all of them, so many pointed out that the plant will come back. After reading my “Simple Act of Kind- ness”article about American painted lady larvae die. To help Mother Nature a tad, I used They do not kill it. After this last statement, caterpillars in the most recent issue of the to be able to buy an extra plant or two from the there was a hush over the audience and no Journal, Janice Stiefel of the Door County local nurseries, but they don’t carry them any- one spoke. (WI) Chapter sent us a note relating some more. I asked why. The answer was that people When the lecture was finished, a sweet, of her own experiences with the American don’t like the plants because they get too gray-haired lady came up to me and said, painted lady larvae and butterflies. “buggy.” I also reared the larvae when we lived “Honey, we had those caterpillars all over our From Janice: I read, with interest, your in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. In that loca- pearly everlasting plants last year – all over the article on American Painted Lady larvae in the tion, they favored the perennial field pussytoes city. Not knowing what they were, we just November/December 2005 issue of the Wild (Antennaria neglecta). They will readily ac- sprayed, squashed, and poisoned them. After Ones Journal. I, too, have had experience cept either plant. Published books list several what you just said, we are feeling real guilty. with that species. After rearing hundreds of other host plants for the American painted We had no idea they would end up to be larvae of various species of moths and butter- lady, but my experience has shown that the beautiful butterflies.” flies, I would say that American painted lady larvae have no interest in them. Perhaps its The lack of knowledge about these creatures larvae are the hardest to deal with. When rear- because they’ve become “hooked” on pearly is sad. It’s not something that is generally in- ing them in captivity, they seem to eat forever, everlastings or pussytoes and no other plant cluded in school curricula, and they certainly hide themselves in messy silken webs so it’s is acceptable. It would be educational to hear don’t get it when they go off to college, unless hard to monitor their development, and they the observations from others who have reared they’re majoring in entomology – and even take a long time to pupate. You were wonder- this species. then, I doubt that they learn details like this, ing where the larvae went when you could no Several years ago, I was giving a butterfly/ unless they do their own research and rearing. longer find them on the sweet everlasting. In moth slide lecture to a district garden club in a Thank you for your “simple act of kindness.” the wild, the larvae just disappear. I have never fairly large central Wisconsin city. During the CONTINUED NEXT PAGE.

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8 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 Barb responds: Thank you for your kind Wild Ones Compiling Registry of Michigan comments and for sending along your Outdoor Educational Areas with Native Plantings own experiences. I find I get a lot of good information from friends’ experiences. Send in your information. I did do a bit more research and found Wild Ones Seeds for Education and the Wildflower Association of out that my sweet everlasting (Gnaphalium Michigan (WAM) are jointly endeavoring to compile a registry of obtusifolium) are annuals. So the butterfly Michigan outdoor educational areas with native plantings. The pur- larvae are feeding on plants that will com- pose of this registry is to facilitate networking among existing sites and plete their life cycle at the end of the to encourage the development of new sites. We envision registrants sharing information season, having produced seeds that will such as “how to” advice for getting started and lesson plans that meet our state benchmarks. germinate in the spring. We also hope that sites would be able to share materials like surplus seeds and wayward In Michigan Butterflies and Skippers by plants (e.g., all those asters that volunteer in woodchip paths). Once the registry is pub- Mogen Nielsen (Michigan State Univer- lished online, one would be able to find out what sites are in any given county, what type of sity Extension; 1999) I found this list habitat(s) a particular site contains, and how the site was funded. If you would like your site of the American painted lady larval food: to be included in the registry, please contact Celia Larsen at [email protected] or pearly everlasting, pussy-toes and cud- Maryann Whitman at [email protected]. ■ weed. I’m sure that by cudweed he meant the native sweet cudweed or sweet ever- Take Yourself to the Next Level of Expertise: Ecoscaper lasting (G. obtusifolium) and not the Euro- Learn more. Do more. Get credit for what you know and what you do. pean cudweed (Gnaphalium uliginosum). The term Ecoscaper refers to the concept and practice of ecological landscaping. With that He further lists that adults take nectar in mind we have developed the Ecoscaper Certification Program which will allow Wild Ones from these native plants: aster, choke- members to both enhance their knowledge and receive credit for their accomplishments. cherry, dogbane, common milkweed, For more information, or to enroll, go to www.for-wild.org/land/ecoscaper/ or contact the ■ bog-rosemary, and Labrador tea. National Office. ■

For more information: wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=ANTNEG wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=ANAMAR If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne Bradstreet • Meditations Divine and Moral • 1664

Yesterday’s Lawn Today’s Sweatshirt This new sweatshirt does it all and says it all. Not only will it keep you nice and warm, but the beautifully embroidered graphic illustrates the story of “Yesterday’s Lawn – Tomorrow’s Habitat.” Wild Ones logo on back. Available in Bluegrass or Sandalwood. Sizes S, M, L, & XL. Just $49 (includes shipping and handling). Order on our web site at www.for-wild.org/store/

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 9 Environmental Impacts of Deicing To keep us from sliding all over the roads and sidewalks, we sometimes have to deice with salt or chemicals. But to prevent damage to plants and other living things, it’s best to follow some precautions.

Every winter, to provide for public safety, communities and fairly expensive and performs poorly when homeowners across the United States pour hundreds of thousands temperatures drop below 20°F. More of tons of salt and other deicing materials on driveways, roads, and importantly, the application rate for highways. The most commonly used deicing agent is sodium urea during a single deicing is 10 chloride (NaCl) because it is relatively inexpensive and readily times greater than that needed to available. The salt and deicing chemicals are carried by melting fertilize the same area of your yard. snow and ice onto vegetation along the roadside and eventually Of course, very little of the urea to local rivers, streams, and other bodies of water. Depending on will actually get to your lawn, but the amount of deicing chemicals used, this can have significant will end up washing into the street environmental impacts. and storm drain. Given that nitrogen is The salts can accumulate in soils along roadsides, affecting trees a major problem in most of our watersheds, it doesn’t make sense and other vegetation. Elevated salt levels in soils inhibit plants’ to use nitrogen-based products, such as those containing urea, ability to absorb water and nutrients, and impedes long-term plant for deicing. growth. Degradation of roadside vegetation can also reduce the Apply Salt Early, but Sparingly. Remember ability of these areas to act as buffers to slow runoff of contami- what your Mom may have told you at the nants into the watershed. In some areas, plants that are salt- dinner table: “A little salt goes a long tolerant (halophytic), such as cattails and the common reed way.” The recommended application rate (Phragmites sp.) have colonized roadside areas. for rock salt is about a handful per square Salts carried by runoff into aquatic ecosystems can build up yard treated (after you have scraped as to concentrations sufficient to affect plants and other organisms. much ice and snow as possible). Using Fish species vary widely in their tolerance to salt levels; however, more salt than this won’t speed up the if concentrations remain high over a prolonged period, some melting process. Even less salt is needed if you are species will be affected. Macroinvertebrates (e.g., aquatic insects, using calcium chloride (about a handful for every mollusks, and crayfish) are less tolerant to salinity; reductions in three square yards treated – or about the area of a single bed). If these populations will have effects throughout the food web. you have a choice, pick calcium chloride over sodium chloride. Excerpted from the web site of the Environmental Literacy Council www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/709.html. Calcium chloride works at much lower temperatures and is applied at a much lower rate. Some Things You Can Do in Your Own Yard Reprinted by permission of StormCenter Communications, Ellicott City, MD 21043 www.stormcenter.com/envirocast/2003-01-01/envirocast.php#article4. Keeping ice and snow off your driveway and sidewalks is important for safety. The following tips can help you choose the best deicing New Road Surface Could Mean Fewer Salt product for your home and the environment. Trucks Know Your Salt Risk Zone. You wouldn’t want to kill your Russ Alger, of the Institute of Snow Research at Michigan favorite tree, shrub or grass, so check out the plants that grow Technological University, has come up with an aggregate that within 5 or 10 feet of your driveway and sidewalk (and the road, for can absorb road salt. The aggregate is glued to that matter). The table below summarizes some of the salt-sensitive the road surface with a tough epoxy. plants that might be at risk. If you have salt-sensitive trees, shrubs, Alger says the aggregate can absorb or grasses in this zone, you should avoid any deicing product that road salt into its matrix for an entire contains chlorides (rock salt and calcium chloride), or use very season. That means when it gets small doses. You may want to use CMA as a safer alternative, or cold, the salt will prevent ice from stick with sand for traction. forming. “In essence what we’ve done is Landscaping Areas Species at Risk from Salting we’ve lowered the freezing point of the Deciduous Trees Tulip Polar, Green Ash, Hickory, Red Maple, Sugar Maple pavement itself, and what that means is ice Conifers Balsam Fir,White Pine, Hemlock, Norway Spruce won’t form at the surface of it.” Shrubs Dogwood, Redbud, Hawthorn, Rose, Spirea Furthermore, the salt cannot wash off when the snow melts. It’s Grasses Kentucky Bluegrass, Red Fescue there, ready for the next snowfall or to prevent a “black ice” event. Alger is working on a contract from the FAA to run tests this winter Avoid Products that Contain Urea. Some folks recommend the on a service road at O’Hare, in Chicago, and on a section of a taxi- use of urea as a safer alternative to more common deicing products, way at Atlantic City Airport in New Jersey. arguing that it does not contain chlorides and, as a form of nitro- Some of the greatest benefits could be closer to home. “You gen, will help fertilize your yard when it washes off. In reality, urea- could mix up a pail and put it on your front walk,” Alger says. based deicing products are a poor choice. To begin with, urea is Imagine: no more salt on your driveway or walkways. ■

10 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 A Sense of Place By Tonie Fitzgerald We have become a culture that “visits” nature and “lives” more and more in a built environment – in a “geography of nowhere.”

In Washington State, it has been over 200 This “geography of nowhere” was iden- insects, and soil microbes that make for years since indigenous peoples described tified by James Kunstler in his 1993 book a healthy ecosystem. Natural landscapes where they lived as “the place where camas of the same title. In essence, in today’s built welcome people to walk through them, sit blooms” or “the place where wild onions environment, we can’t tell where we are in them, and do less maintenance in them. nod.” In other parts of the country, it has when we look around. Think pine-needle paths instead of edged been even longer. We are losing our sense of place. walkways, natural plant shapes instead of Where Native Americans lived – and We may not like it, but we accept it as sculptured hedges, drought-tolerant the plants and animals that lived there – the inevitable cost of progress. ground covers instead of thirsty lawns. determined if they lived. Survival required The acceptance of the geography of Perhaps more importantly, landscapes intimate contact with the natural world. nowhere is puzzling when one considers that reflect the local natural surroundings Without guidebooks, maps, or internet that so many of us claim to be “outdoorsy” give us that sense of where we really live. ■ access, they knew weather patterns, ocean and go to great lengths to connect with Reprinted by permission of author, from tides, hydrology, topography, and the life nature. We hike, we camp, we go to the Washington State Magazine, Winter 2002-03 cycles and habits of plants and animals in lake. We breathe, we relax, and we re- the places they lived. They had a very connect with ourselves. And then we strong “sense of place.” drive home to jobs, school, housework, America’s Lost Landscape Now, most Americans are able to get and other aspects of our busy lives. We The Tallgrass Prairie DVD through a day with little outside-world have become a culture that “visits” nature contact. We may not prefer it that way, but and “lives” more and more in a built it’s common for us to spend the greater environment. part of our days in a human-built environ- Many people have become dismayed ment. Typically, our “sense of place” comes or depressed by what is happening to our from the locations of our houses, offices, natural world. Others have become garden- schools, gyms, restaurants, stores, libraries, ers. Gardening, this includes landscaping, or other buildings. ranks as America’s number one leisure Can we even tell if we’re near the ocean, activity. Research indicates why. Studies in a desert, on a plateau, or by a grassland have linked people’s proximity to nature – prairie by looking out a window? Infre- primarily plants – with stress relief, short- quently. In America, the natural landscape, ened hospital stays, increased mental with its millions of plants, animals, birds acuity, lowered blood pressure, reduced This amazing DVD tells the and insects, is disappearing at an alarming domestic violence, and a host of other rich and complex story of rate – 220 acres per hour! – due to urban good things. We may not be highly con- one of the most astonishing and suburban sprawl. And what isn’t street, scious of it, but we feel and act better alterations of nature in human parking lot, or edifice is apt to be an orna- when we’re around plants. history. Prior to Euro- mental landscape meant to please the Evidently, gardeners know the benefits American settlement in the human eye rather than sustain biodiversity. of being among plants. It’s hard to find 1820s, one of the major land- Ecologically, the plants in these land- one who doesn’t spend much of his or her scapes are not the ones that thrived there time tending to plant and soil needs, scape features of North before the land was changed by human watching for the first new growth, waiting America was 240 million activity. While North America is home for bloom time, and so on. Gardeners must acres of tallgrass prairie. But to about 20,000 native plant species, most be in tune with the natural world, for it’s between 1830 and 1900 – landscapes since the 1950s have been the sun or shade, the wet or dry, the hot or the space of a single lifetime, designed and planted with cultivars of cold, that determine how their gardens the tallgrass prairie was a couple hundred plants and trees that grow. Gardeners have their sense of place transformed into farmland. lend themselves to mass production, in this world. This powerful and moving marketing, and sale. So a person traveling “Naturalized landscaping” is the fastest from Boston to Seattle or Atlanta to Los growing style of gardening. Naturalized video experience tells the Angeles sees not only the same chain landscaping can be loosely defined as land- story. Just $33 including stores, restaurants, and housing develop- scaping with plants adapted to the places shipping and handling. ments, but also the same northern – or where we live. Naturalized landscapes use Available on our web site southern – palette of plant materials plant types and groupings that welcome at www.for-wild.org/store/. across the nation. and sustain the diversity of birds, animals,

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 11 The Grapevine By Maryann Whitman My Cup-Plant Runneth Over The notion of invasiveness in native plants is one that is distasteful to contemplate. Usually we prefer to say that a native plant is a “strong spreader” or an “aggressive spreader.” At some point it may be necessary to stop splitting hairs. I’m thinking particularly of cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum). It first caught my attention when it appeared in a news item as having spread aggressively along a riparian stretch in upper New York state, where it is not native. It had been introduced by a landowner and happily galloped on from there. It is now “potentially invasive” and banned in Connecticut. In my own yard in southeastern Michigan I introduced it as seed some years ago, oblivious of the fact that it is not native to my own county. It is spreading quite aggressively. Fortunately it grows quite large, is hard to miss, and therefore easy to chop down. This is a clear example of a native plant that behaves well in its traditional plant com- munity, in its traditional habitat only to become a pest when moved by humans into areas that it might not have moved into on its own.

No-Till, No Problem A brief article was published recently in the Journal of Environmental Quality relating no-till farming practices and increased emissions of greenhouse gases – most notably nitrous oxide. Since natural landscaping also employs essentially no-till methods it may be a short, though erroneous, leap in logic, in some minds, to connect natural landscaping and increased emissions of greenhouse gases. It’s important to know the rest of the story: The problem of greenhouse gases arises when fertilizers are spread on top of last year’s crop residue of corn stalks or soy straw, landing several inches above the mineral soil. When the fertilizer is injected several inches below the surface of the soil, greenhouse gas emissions are no longer a problem. Since natural landscaping does not use fertilizers in any case, it is safe to conclude that gardening methods using minimal soil disturbance will not result in the increased emis- sions of greenhouse gases.

It’s All One Piece In the early 1990s deformed frogs with oddly shaped, missing, and extra limbs were discov- ered in a pond in Minnesota. To date, 40 states have reported similar discoveries, and specu- lation runs rife as to any causal relationships – exposure to pesticides like Atrazine; exposure to ultraviolet light from the thinning ozone. Pieter Johnson, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin, says his theory is supported by the most solid evidence so far. He says that all the frogs with deformed limbs that he has studied were infected by flatworm parasites, called trematodes. He believes that agricultural and residential fertilizers are contributing to the parasite’s growing numbers. The relationship is not by any means a direct one. The parasite’s life cycle involves birds, in which it releases its eggs, that end up in bird droppings, some of which fall in pond water and hatch; pond snails, which are the primary host of the parasite through maturity; and finally frogs, into whose joints the adult parasites burrow, interfering with limb develop- ment. Birds eat the frogs and the cycle is repeated. Johnson believes that human land-use practices have contributed to the increased popu- lations of trematodes. “With this trematode parasite in frogs, what we’ve been finding is that nutrient pollution or eutrification, basically elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in aquatic systems, can have a really strong promoting effect on the parasite.” Here is the rest of the relationship that follows from what Johnson has found evidence for: eutrophication promotes the aquatic plant growth that feeds increasing numbers of pond snails. Eutrophication also decreases the percentage of dissolved oxygen in the water. The primary predator of the snail is the crayfish; crayfish require high percentages of dissolved oxygen in their habitat. So there it is – all odds in this complicated tale are stacked in favor of the parasite. And by the way, while many states have banned the use of phosphorus in lawn products, it is still widely used in agricultural fertilizers and some dishwasher soaps. Phosphorus does not break down easily in soils – it can persist from 20 to 100 years. ■

12 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 Wild Ones New and Renewing Business Members NEW BUSINESS MEMBERS Art & Linda’s Wildflowers 3730 S. 59th Ave., Cicero, Illinois 60804 [email protected] • ww.artandlindaswildflowers.com Greater DuPage (IL) Chapter Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery LLC 8718 Claussville Rd., Fogelsville, PA 18051 • 610-442-2495 [email protected] • www.edgeofthewoods.biz Partner-at-Large JF New & Associates 708 Roosevelt Rd., Walkerton, IN 46574 • 574-586-3400 [email protected] • www.jfnew.com & www.jfnewnursery.com Partner-at-Large Johnson’s Nursery W180 N6275 Marcy Rd., Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 262-252-4988 • [email protected] www.johnsonsnursery.com Menomonee River Area (WI) Chapter Ohio Prairie Nursery P.O. Box 174, Hiram, OH 44234 • 330-569-3380 [email protected] • www.ohioprairienursery.com Western Reserve (OH) Chapter Outdoor Living Nursery, Inc. 11707 N. Second St., Loves Park, IL 61115 • 815-636-4650 [email protected] OUT BACK NURSERY, INC. Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter “Where Ecology and Horticulture Unite”TM Redbud Native Plant Nursery 1214 N. Middletown Rd., Glen Mills, PA 19342 • 610-358-4300 Specializing in Partner-at-Large Minnesota Tallgrass Restorations native trees, 10350 Dearlove Unit D, Glenview, IL 60025 • 877-699-8300 shrubs & [email protected] perennials. North Park Village Nature Center (IL) Chapter Consulting, Design & RENEWING BUSINESS MEMBERS Landscape American Family Insurance Installation. 6000 American Pkwy., Madison, WI 53783 • 608-242-4100 ext. 31883 “May we be your guides? ” SM [email protected] • www.amfam.com Madison (WI) Chapter • (651) 438-2771 (651) 438-3816 Fax Shooting Star Nursery Toll-Free (800) 651-3626 160 Soards Rd., Georgetown, KY 40324 • 502-223-1679 15280 110th Street South [email protected] • www.shootingstarnursery.com Hastings, Minnesota 55033 Partner-at-Large www.outbacknursery.com Northern Sunset Perennials Germantown, WI 53022-1906 Retail hours: Friday 1-5PM • Saturday 8-2PM [email protected] • www.NorthernSunset.com or by appointment. Menomonee River Area (WI) Chapter Wholesale hours: Mon-Fri 8-4:30PM • Saturday 8-2PM For more information about these businesses and their services, The largest selection of native plants in the region. please see the Wild Ones web site resources link at www.for-wild.org/ members/business/ or contact the National Office at 877-394-9453.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 13 NATIVES IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS Blanc, Russo picks a sprig of leaves from a bush sage, inhales its CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 pungent aroma, and hands it to me. “There’s not much in bloom After purchasing the place, Russo discovered a huge, multi- now,” she says. Still, we find the dark-red flower tassels of Catalina branched California buckeye tree hidden in the dense growth of perfume, the just-opened buds of white-flowering currant, and one exotics. When the buckeye lost its leaves that summer, Russo, fear- early blue-violet spray of mountain lilac. ing the tree was dying, called arborists for advice. They told her, As we scuff through oak-leaf litter next to dry-laid sandstone “It’s a native. That’s what they do in summer.” (Summer is the dry retaining walls, Russo exults over both the shiny new leaves on a season in southern California; the rains that green – and some- mahonia that was slow to take hold and the sprouts on a Catalina cherry, as proud as any mother showing off her brood. She points As Russo stopped flooding the soil out a woodland strawberry bearing a few starry white flowers, and and eliminated invaders, sprouts of toyon, a mahogany and gold blossom of a Douglas iris. flowering gooseberry, and other natives We stop to watch a ruby-crowned kinglet foraging for insects emerged, “just as if they were in the branches of a large California bay laurel. A male Anna’s waiting to come back.” hummingbird chatters nearby, defending his patch of Cedros Island snapdragon blos- times flood – these semi-arid landscapes come in winter.) Land- soms. “It’s magic,” said scaper Stephanie Wilson Blanc, an independent garden designer Russo. “I have always loved specializing in native plants and habitat restoration, inventoried the plants, but I didn’t un- the property before Russo began making changes. derstand that by bringing As soon as Blanc looked beyond the lawn and weeping willows, them back I’d get the birds she recognized the source of the property’s appeal: a grove of native and other wildlife, too.” coast live oaks nearly buried in what Russo describes as “a jungle” One day in 2002, the of exotic trees and shrubs spawned by previous owners’ plantings. driest year on record in The twisted trunks of the live oaks triggered a memory from Russo’s southern California, Russo childhood: “There was a street I loved to walk on because of the and Blanc attended an event trees. They were just so beautiful and, I guess, peaceful.” at the Rancho Santa Ana Thus was rekindled Russo’s love affair with southern California’s Botanical Garden in Clare- neglected heritage – its indigenous plants. She and Blanc embarked mont, a facility devoted to on a mission to save her live oaks, nearly drowned by over-watering showcasing California’s and half strangled by the vines of invasive vinca and English ivy, thousands of native plant and by thickets of exotic sweet gum, pittosporum, Brazilian pepper, species. There Russo met and bottlebrush trees. Adán Ortega Jr., then vice- The first step was to quit watering. As Blanc reminded Russo, the president of external affairs Hillside gooseberry (Ribes californicum), native plants were adapted to essentially two alternating seasons – for the Metropolitan Water has great flowers, tasty fruit, fragrant rain in winter and drought in summer. Next they set to work evict- District of Southern Cali- foliage, and good fall color. ing alien plants, including at least 150 trees. As they stopped flood- fornia, a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving ing the soil and eliminated invaders, sprouts of toyon, flowering 18 million people from Ventura County to the Mexican border. gooseberry, and other natives emerged, “just as if they were waiting As they talked about the persistent drought and the opportunity to come back,” says Russo. “The land knew what to do.” it provided to educate people about saving water, they realized they Russo and Blanc followed the land’s guidance. They watered shared a passion for native California. Growing up in east Los sparingly and only in the driest times, and planted clumps of na- Angeles, Ortega remembers discovering the incredible wetlands at tive shrubs and wildflowers with names that evoke California’s a Malibu Canyon camp for inner-city kids. He also recalls walking Spanish heritage: manzanita and osoberry, both from the Spanish to school up a hill with a patch of native brush that “most people for their fruits – the first looking like little apples (manzana); the would have called weeds.” The scrub looked dead most of the year, second, beloved of bears (oso) – along with Catalina perfume, but after the winter rain, it came alive with blossoms that would mountain mahogany, chaparral honeysuckle, and coast tassel bush. draw “huge swarms” of butterflies. Since the vegetation was con- To mimic the pools in native dry streambeds and increase verted to lawn long ago, the butterflies flutter only in Ortega’s habitat diversity without wasting water, Blanc designed “watering memory. “I miss them,” he says. rocks,” shallow basins cut in the tops of sandstone boulders that Ortega told Russo that exotic landscaping and excessive water- are flushed twice daily by an automatic system. Since the region ing were not only harming native plants and wildlife, they were averages only about 16 inches of precipitation a year and must im- also affecting the region’s native people. He recalled meeting the port water from as far away as the Colorado River to supplement its treasurer of the Pachanga Mission Indians, who mentioned her meager local supply, the rock pools had to be efficient. Each holds concern about the extinction of the native sages, which were sacred less than a cup of water, yet even that small amount creates runoff to her people. Ortega connected that to the loss of critical habitat that nurtures seep areas for moisture-loving natives, including red for southern California wildlife, including the threatened coastal twig dogwood, California maidenhair fern, stream orchid, and California gnatcatcher. yerba buena. In his work for the Metropolitan Water District, Ortega had Wandering the path that crisscrosses the steep slope under the begun shaping an effort to motivate landowners and developers to dappled shade of the coast live oaks one February morning with conserve water used in landscaping, which accounted for nearly

14 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 half of domestic water use in the district. He was searching for a by “gray water” reused from sinks and washing machines, and a way to connect water conservation to restoring the region’s sages cistern system that will collect rainwater. She also has plans for a and other native vegetation. small orchard under-planted with native wildflowers to attract pol- By the end of their conversation Russo and Ortega had agreed to linating bees in order to increase fruit production. But the first goal cooperate, and within months they had convened a forum includ- of Russo’s landscaping project has already been accomplished: The coast live oak grove is thriving. And the whole property is so easy to “It’s magic,” said Russo. “I have always care for, Russo admits, as she stoops to tug a weed out of a particu- loved the plants, but I didn’t understand that larly vivid patch of blue lupine and orange California poppies, she by bringing them back I’d get the birds and tends it herself. Walking down a set of sandstone steps with Blanc, Russo stops other wildlife, too.” to look back over her shoulder. “It’s a good thing I met Stephanie,” ing builders, the water district, environmental groups, and native- she says, “or I would still be pulling up toyon [also called Cali- plant enthusiasts. Out of that effort came the California Landscape fornia holly, for its evergreen, holly-like leaves and clusters of Heritage Campaign, a drive to educate nurseries, landscapers, de- bright red berries] and over-watering my oaks.” She points up at velopers, and homeowners about native species and “California- the still-bare slope. “That was full of toyon, and I pulled most of it adapted species,” those exotics that thrive in California’s climate out – I’ve never told her before.” without crowding out natives. People could thus save water and Farther down the path, Russo points to a grove of toyon on the help replant southern California’s vanishing indigenous habitat, slope across the gully on a neighbor’s property. A big eucalyptus yard by yard. tree, native to Australia, and a good-size South African pittosporum With Russo lending her passion for native plants to the project tower over the thicket. as an advocate, and with Ortega persuading the Metropolitan Water “They’ll shade out the toyon,” she says. “You should see the District to invest its financial resources and political muscle, the masses of birds that feed on the berries in the winter. They just Landscape Heritage Campaign soon took off. Home-improvement flock in there.” stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, as well as Armstrong “I’m going to see if they’ll let me cut those down,” she says. Garden Centers and other regional nurseries, now feature Cali- “I’ll ask nicely. fornia native flora. Large developers are joining the effort, too, “And if they say no,” she pauses, her blue eyes alight with mis- touting model homes landscaped with native and California- chief, “maybe they’ll just blow over some night in a winter storm.” adapted plant species, and, in one case, an entire development Moments later she peers down into the gully, pointing to a red- designed to integrate with the surrounding vegetation, rather than flowering clump of shrubs. “See the currant I planted last year? replacing it, which has been the norm in southern California. It’s really taking off,” she says. “Isn’t that beautiful? It’s like the Last year Metropolitan Water awarded $750,000 to community- land was just waiting for us to treat it right.” ■ based organizations, including the Buena Vista chapter of the Reprinted and abridged with permission of the author. Full version appeared in Audubon Society, which is working in cooperation with the city of Audubon Magazine, July 2005. Oceanside. The funds are for landscaping in public places using native and “California-friendly” plants. In 2003, the first year of the Landscape Heritage Cam- paign, Russo, who helped conceive of the grant idea, assisted in giving out the awards. In April 2005 Russo earned an award of her own when Audubon California gave her its Audubon At Home Award for creating a sustainable, healthier habitat for plants, birds, and other wildlife. Back at home, the actress is engaged in an improvement project of a different sort: remodeling her house with environment- friendly, nonflammable materials such as native sandstone, and earth-tone stucco and concrete that will protect against wildfire and comple- ment the ridgetop view. The construction gave Blanc the opportunity to try out a new idea: a formal garden surrounding the house that would restore habitat. Terraces below the re- modeled house, for example, will be edged with hedges evoking a clipped Mediterranean garden. But instead of traditional boxwood, a water- thirsty exotic, Blanc plans to plant a drought- tolerant, low-growing form of manzanita to attract native butterflies and bees. Like every garden, Russo’s landscape is a work in progress. Still to come is a small lawn watered

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 15 The Meeting Place Chapters, please send your chapter contact information to: Calendar Coordinator Mary Paquette N2026 Cedar Road • Adell, Wisconsin 53001 920-994-2505 • [email protected] Chapter ID numbers are listed after names. Meet us online at www.for-wild.org

CONNECTICUT MAINE St. Cloud Chapter #29 Greg Shirley 320-259-0825 [email protected] Connecticut Chapter #78 (Seedling) The Maine Chapter #75 (Seedling) Fourth Monday, 6:30 p.m., Heritage Nature Center. Kathy T. Dame 860-439-2144 Barbara Murphy 207-743-6329 [email protected] [email protected] St. Croix Oak Savanna Chapter #71 Connecticut College Arboretum Oxford County. Mary-Clare Holst 651-351-7351 [email protected] ILLINOIS MICHIGAN Third Thursday, 7 p.m., Stillwater Town Hall. Twin Cities Chapter #56 Ann Arbor Chapter #3 Greater DuPage Chapter #9 Marty Rice 952-927-6531 [email protected] Susan Bryan 734-622-9997 Message Center: 630-415-IDIG Meetings third Tuesday of the month, [email protected] Pat Clancy 630-964-0448, [email protected] Social/Set-up 6:30 p.m., meeting 7 p.m. Second Wednesday of month (except April), 7.p.m., Third Thursday Jan., Feb., Mar., Sept., Oct., Nokomis Community Center, Matthaei Botanical Garden, Room 125. Nov., 7 p.m. Willowbrook Wildlife Center, 2401 E. Minnehaha Pkwy., Minneapolis. 525 South Park Blvd. (at 22nd Street), Glen Ellyn. Calhoun County Chapter #39 See web site for details. Carol Spanninga 517-857-3766 MISSOURI Lake-To-Prairie Chapter #11 [email protected] Karen Wisiol 847-548-1650 Fourth Tuesday, 7 p.m. Mid-Missouri Chapter #49 Meetings at Prairie Crossing, Grayslake, west side Calhoun Intermediate School District building Scott Hamilton 573-882-9909 x3257 of Rt. 45, south of IL 120, north of IL 137. on G Drive N. at Old U.S. 27, Marshall. [email protected] Second Saturday, 10 a.m. Macomb Chapter #42 (Seedling) Central Upper Peninsula Chapter #61 Location varies. See: wildones.missouri.org Margaret Ovitt 309-836-6231, [email protected] Pat Landry 906-428-4053 Macomb, Springfield, Decatur area. [email protected] St. Louis Chapter #31 Meetings/activities: Fourth Wednesday of the Scott Woodbury 636-451-3512 North Park Chapter #27 month – see web site for details. [email protected] Bob Porter 312-744-5472 First Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. [email protected] Detroit Metro Chapter #47 Location varies. See web site. Second Thursday, 7 p.m., Connie Manley 248-538-0654 North Park Nature Center [email protected] 5801 N. Pulaski, Chicago. Meeting dates and times vary. Please call for details. NEW YORK Habitat Gardening Club of Central Rock River Valley Chapter #21 Flint River Chapter #32 New York #76 Tim Lewis 815-874-3468 For information, contact Thomas Enright. Janet Allen 315-487-5742 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Third Thursday, 7 p.m., usually at Burpee Museum Mott Community College’s Prahl College Center See web site for meeting dates and details. of Natural History, 737 N. Main St., Rockford. Genessee Room Meetings January 12 and February 9, 6-9 p.m. Fourth Sunday, 2 p.m., locations vary. Liverpool Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool 13088. INDIANA Kalamazoo Area Chapter #37 Nancy & Tom Small 269-381-4946 New York Capital District Chapter #69 Gibson Woods Chapter #38 Laurel Tormey Cole 518-872-9458 Joy Bower 219-844-3188 [email protected] Fourth Wednesday of month, 7:30 p.m. Christian Church, 2208 Winchell, Kalamazoo. [email protected] Gibson Woods Nature Center, Albany/Schenectady/Troy/Saratoga. 6201 Parrish Ave., Hammond. Oakland Chapter #34 Barbara Bray 248-601-6405 OHIO KENTUCKY [email protected] Third Thursday, 7 p.m., Greater Cincinnati Chapter #62 Frankfort Chapter #24 Old Oakland Township Parks/Police Building, Roberta Trombly 513-542-0893, Katie Clark 502-226-4766 [email protected] 4392 Collins Rd., Oakland Township. [email protected] Salato Wildlife Education Center See web site for program info. Chris McCullough: 513-860-4959, Second Monday, 5:30 p.m., [email protected] Greenhouse #1 Game Farm Rd, Frankfort Red Cedar Chapter #41 Monthly meetings or field trips; see web site. off U.S. 60 W (Louisville Road). Mark Ritzenhein 517-336-0965 [email protected] Third Wednesday, 7-9 p.m. Columbus Chapter #4 Lexington Chapter #64 Room 139, Radiology, MSU campus. Marilyn Logue 614-237-2534, Russ Turpin 859-797-8174, [email protected] For details: www.for-wild.org/redcedar [email protected] First Wednesday of month, 7:30 p.m., Second Saturday, 10 a.m., McConnell Spring. MINNESOTA Innis House, Inniswood Metropolitan Park, Louisville Metrowild Chapter #26 940 Hempstead Rd., Westerville Portia Brown 502-454-4007 Arrowhead Chapter #48 Field trips: See web site or contact above. [email protected] Carol Andrews 218-529-8204 [email protected] Maumee Valley Chapter #66 (Seedling) See web site for meeting schedule. Jan Hunter 419-833-2020 Wildflower Woods, Cherokee Fourth Wednesday, 7 p.m. September through April [email protected] Woods Saturday Work Day: Meeting dates and times vary. Call for details. Ward Wilson 502-299-0331, [email protected] Hartley Nature Center. Allan Nations 502-456-3275, Otter Tail Chapter #25 Toledo Chapter #77 (Seedling) [email protected] Karen Terry 218-736-5520 [email protected] Todd Crail 419-539-6810, [email protected] Fourth Monday, 7 p.m., University of Toledo’s Stranahan Arboretum. Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, Fergus Falls.

16 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 WILD ONES NATIONAL March 5-6, 2006 QUARTERLY BOARD MEETINGS Wildflower Association of Michigan Annual All members are invited and encouraged to Conference and Educator’s Workshop. Nature’s Please note that shipping and attend the quarterly meetings of the National Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together, presented handling rates for Wild Ones Store Board of Directors If you’d like to participate in in partnership with the Michigan Stewardship items are going up after the first of the the meeting by conference call, please contact Network. Among the speakers: Carolyn Harstad, the National Office (toll-free) at 877-394-9453 author of Go Native and Got Shade?; agro- year to accommodate rising postal for instructions. ecologist Dana Jackson, co-author of The Farm as Natural Habitat. To be held at the Kellogg rates and other shipping increases as 1st Quarter 2006 National Board Meeting will Center in East Lansing, Michigan. For more infor- a result of out-of-action ports due to be via conference call. mation, contact Cheryl Tolley at 616-691-8214, hurricanes and oil and gas shortages. 2nd Quarter 2006 National Board Meeting [email protected], or Maryann Whitman at will be hosted by Oakland chapter in May. [email protected]. 3rd Quarter 2006 National Board Meeting February 25, 2006 and Annual Meeting in Naperville, Illinois, will Thoughtful Gardener Symposium co-hosted be hosted by Greater DuPage (IL) Chapter, July by Green Bay (WI) Chapter, at the University of Wild Ones 14-16, 2006. Wisconsin - Green Bay Union. Neil Diboll’s 4th Quarter 2006 National Board Meeting in keynote presentation and workshop will be on Columbia, Missouri, will be hosted by Mid- “Adventures in Prairie Restoration.” Additional Library Missouri (MO) Chapter, October 7, 2006. speakers include Randy Powers and Gary Fewless Thank you to Deanna Larson, Rock River OTHER CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS For more info call 920-465-2200 ext. 28. Valley (IL) Chapter and to Kathy Coleman, January 21, 2006 February 25, 2006 Gibson Woods (IL) Chapter for the maga- Annual Toward Harmony with Nature Confer- Fourteenth annual Natural Landscaping Seminar, ence, hosted by Fox Valley Area (WI) Chapter, at Backyard Beauties and Beasts. Sponsored by zine articles they’ve recently sent to the the Hilton Inn, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The keynote the Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Wild Ones Library. address will be given by Neil Diboll, president of Committee (affiliated with the McHenry Country If you have articles or books or even Prairie Nursery, who will present his thoughts on Defenders), held at McHenry County College, “developments in native plant landscaping over MCC Conference Center, Crystal Lake, Illinois, posters that you think would be of the past 25 years.” For more information, or to 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. interest to others through our Wild Ones request a brochure and registration information, For information on other relative native landscap- library, please don’t hesitate to send them contact Karen Syverson, 920-987-5587. ing conferences, please see Wild Ones web site at www.for-wild.org/chapters/Conf. to the National Office. ■

The Meeting Place (continued from previous page)

Western Reserve Chapter #73 Erin Chapter #57 Menomonee River Area Chapter #16 Barb Holtz 440-473-3370 Bob & Bev Hults 262-670-0445 Jan Koel 262-251-7175 [email protected] [email protected] Diane Holmes 262-628-2825 Meetings every third Thursday, 7 p.m., Third Thursday, 7 p.m., Erin Town Hall, Indoor meetings: third Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., North Chagrin Nature Center (North Chagrin 1846 Hwy. 83, Hartford. teachers’ lounge, Valley View School, Reservation, Cleveland Metroparks, off Rte. 91 W180 N8130 Town Hall Rd., in Willoughby Hills). Fox Valley Area Chapter #8 Menomonee Falls. Karen Syverson 920-987-5587 [email protected] January 21: 10th Toward Harmony with Nature Milwaukee North Chapter #18 PENNSYLVANIA Natural Landscaping Conference, 8:30-4:30, Message Center: 414-299-9888 Habitat Resource Network Chapter #79 Hilton Garden Inn, Oshkosh. Meetings: Second Saturday of month, 9:30 a.m. (Seedling) February 23: Annual meeting and seed exchange, at Urban Ecology Center, 1500 East Park Place, Derek Stedman 610-355-7736, 7 p.m., Memorial Park Arboretum and Garden, Milwaukee. [email protected] Appleton. See web site for details. Milwaukee Southwest-Wehr Chapter #23 Maureen Carbery 484-678-6200, Message Center: 414-299-9888 [email protected] Green Bay Chapter #10 Second Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Wehr Nature Center, Chester & Delaware Counties Debi Nitka 920-465-8512, [email protected] 9701 W. College Ave., Franklin. Cindy Hermsen, 920-434-6866, Susquehanna Valley Chapter #68 Root River Area Chapter #43 Jim Hitz 717-741-3996 [email protected] [email protected] Usually third Wednesday. Most meetings at Green Nan Calvert 262-681-4899 Meetings, times, and locations vary. [email protected] Please contact above or check web site for details. Bay Botanical Garden, 2600 Larsen Rd., except in summer. See web site for details. First Saturday of the month, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Riverbend Nature Center, Racine. WISCONSIN Lake Woods Chapter #72 Jeanne Munz 920-793-4452 Wolf River Chapter #74 Central Wisconsin Chapter #50 [email protected] Marge Guyette 715-787-3482 Dan Dieterich 715-346-2849 Woodland Dunes Nature Center, [email protected] [email protected] Hwy 310 just west of Two Rivers. Menominee, Oconto, Shawano, & Waupaca Fourth Thursday, 7 p.m., Rooms 1&2, counties. Portage County Extension Building, Madison Chapter #13 Wisconsin Northwoods Chapter #63 1462 Strongs Ave., Stevens Point. Laurie Yahr 608-274-6539, [email protected] Diane Willette 715-362-6870 [email protected] Times, places vary in summer. Check web site. See web site or contact above for details. Fourth Monday of month, Fireside Room, Door County Chapter #59 Univ. Transfer Center at Lake Julia Campus of Judy Reninger 920-839-1182 Nicolet Area Tech. College, Rhinelander area. [email protected] Time & location vary; check web site.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 17 New Year. At The Wild Ones Store Wild Ones Sweatshirts Wild Ones New Owner. Whether you choose Denim Shirts one with the great Spread the word “Yesterday’s Lawn” about Wild Ones, New Identity. design or the “Roots” and always be in design, these new style with this eye- sweatshirts will keep catching shirt. Profession- you nice and warm. ally embroidered with Wild Ones Available in lots of comfy colors. $26 logo and famous “Yesterday’s Lawn, Tomorrow’s Habitat” design. $52 Landscaping with Native Plants This comprehensive guide book con- Long-Sleeve tinues the tradition of “Roots” T-Shirts “how to” information, The roots of native along with Wild Ones plants grow deep, and history and everything here’s a great way to you’ll need to know show off that impor- about being a member tant fact. “Roots” on of Wild Ones. Get front and the Wild Ones logo yours now. $10 on the back. Cool and unique. $20

Lots more Wild Ones items for sale on the web site. Check it out. For more information, contact the National Office at 877-394-9453 or e-mail to [email protected]. Checks payable to Wild Ones at: Wild Ones Merchandise, P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, Wisconsin 54912. Prices include shipping and handling. For maximum convenience, order online at www.for-wild.org/store/

Join Wild Ones Get Something Free Prairie Directory Wild About of North America Wildflowers This fabulous Are you wild about directory of North wildflowers? When American prairies you join or renew is yours free when your Wild Ones you join or renew membership at the your Wild Ones $50 level or higher, membership at you will receive, at the $75 level or no extra charge, higher. Normally retailing for $25 this highly acclaimed video. (including shipping and handling), this Covering everything from how to directory not only locates prairies for choose, plant, grow, and enjoy native you, but also gives you quick facts american wildflowers and grasses in about each one. Former Journal Editor- your own yard, this item sells in the 83 Ambrogio Drive, Suite K Gurnee, IL 60031 in-Chief, Mariette Nowak, said, “Prairie Wild Ones Store for $30, but now you lovers everywhere, this is the book for can get it almost for free. Join Wild Please visit our website at you!” The Prairie Directory of North Ones or renew your membership www.lakesmanagement.com America is a must-have for your travel today! or call us at any time. 847-244-6662 reference collection. Join or renew now!

18 WILD ONES JOURNAL ✵ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 Wild Ones Membership Form Name______Address ______City______State/ZIP ______Phone ______Do the Earth a Favor E-Mail ______Give a Wild Ones gift membership Annual Dues: Wild Wilder Wildest to friends, family, or anyone Household $30 $50 $75+ Business $200 $500 $1,000+ else who could benefit I am joining/renewing at the from a healthier home $50 or higher level. Send Membership Premium Video. planet. Helping save $75 or higher level. Send Membership Premium Book. the Earth, and your Limited income/full-time student household: $20/year favorite Wild organiza- Please check: new renewal new contact info tion has never been so Amount enclosed $ ______for ______years. easy. For full details visit the Wild Ones web site, Chapter preference ______www.for-wild.org/joining.html. Chapters listed in “The Meeting Place.” If this is a Gift Membership: My Name______Occasion for Gift ______Entire Membership Fee Is Tax-Deductible.

Wild Ones • P.O. Box 1274 • Appleton, WI • 54912-1274

Invasive Plants

The culmination of long-time Wild Ones member, Betty Czarapata’s dedication, and her life’s work, this guide to invasive plants of the upper midwest includes more than 250 color photos that will help identify prob- lem plants, details of plant identification, information, and advice about herbicides, and suggestions for related ecological restoration and community education ef- forts. This is a must-have book for anyone with a passion for native plants and the desire to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities. $30 per copy, includes shipping and handling, at the Wild Ones Store, www.for-wild.org/store.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 ✵ WILD ONES JOURNAL 19 NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID N ATIVE P LANTS, NATURAL L ANDSCAPES PERMIT NO 90 OSHKOSH, WI P.O. Box 1274 Appleton, WI 54912-1274 www.for-wild.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED DATED MATERIAL

Is your membership OK? How about your address? If the imprint above is dated 3/1/06 or 4/1/06 or before, your membership is about to expire. If you are moving, either temporarily or permanently, please let the National Office know as soon as your new address is official. Returned and forwarded mail costs Wild Ones anywhere from $.70 to $2.36 per piece. You can mail your address information to Wild Ones, P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, Wisconsin 54912, call toll-free at 877-394-9453, or go to the Wild Ones members-only pages at www.for-wild.org. Click on item 2 (Update Personal Membership Info) and enter the appropriate changes.

Thank You!

Wild Ones Journal Seeds for Education A big thank you to Judy Lechnar and Mary S. JF New & Associates Huggins of Ann Arbor (MI) Chapter, and Lucy Partner-at-Large and Gary Lee of the Louisville Metro Wild (KY) Carlos Contreras Chapter, for their contributions toward the publica- Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter tion of the Journal. Because of you, and other con- Pamela L. Mott tributors like you, the National Board decided to Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter use the funds which were set aside as the result of the 2002 Fast Forward Communications Campaign Tina Willmar-Hammar to offset the cost of publishing the January/ Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter February issue of the Journal. Melanie Costello Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter Matching Donations Christine L. McCullough Walter and Bev Wieckert, Fox Valley Area (WI) Greater Cincinnnati (OH) Chapter Sanguinaria canadensis Chapter: $150 triple match from Illinois Tool Nancy W. Sullivan Works. Greater Cincinnati (OH) Chapter Mary P. and John D. Paquette Menomonee River Area (WI) Chapter

General Operating Fund Sharon Swope Susquehanna Valley (PA) Chapter Office Supplies

Trillium nivale A special thank you to Tim and Janaan Lewis, Rock River Valley (IL) Chapter, for the donation of miscellaneous office supplies.